Yeah, it was bad all right, and I actually thought I would be taking bigger hits than I have been. May still.

If SSF was going to run second (big trip race), SC was going to win the Fillies (performance of the day, by far), Speightstown was going to win, I wasn't going to cash those races no matter what. Live by the overlay, die by the overlay-- especially in the short run.

The two Euros killed me. Ouija Board because of the trip-- quick look says she ran maybe 1/2 point better than in the Arc (maybe because of Lasix, maybe not). If she had an average trip she wouldn't have been in the top 2, if she got the trip that she figured to get (remember, she dwelt 3 times in her last 5 starts, came from far back going 1 1/2 in the Arc) she would have lost far more ground and probably would have been out of the tri. I boxed 4, pressed 3-- who ran 2-3-4 at double digit odds. The exacta would have made me a winner for the day, forget about the tri. At the price, I would throw out OB every time in that situation.

Wilco was the other killer. I ended up throwing out both RR and PA, boxing Sun King and AA in exactas, and making a cold tri box of them and Lukas.

As far as comments about the day, we'll post the #'s in a couple of days. The soft turf may not have helped Moscow Burning, Star Over The Bay, Soaring Free or Special Ring, we'll know better if they run back this year. The "move-up" issue is more complicated, though what John Chance said below is certainly a real possibility.

The ironic thing-- I was checking charts online throughout the day trying to figure out how northern and "move-up" horses were running. After Zito's horse ran well in the first and the shippers ran well in the Distaff, it was clear acclimation was not an issue. I worked out from the Sprint chart that the two Frankels, after adjusting for ground loss, ran decent. So when they got to the Classic (I was in a pretty bad mood by then-- there is nothing like doing bad in public when you're supposed to be an expert on the biggest day of the year) I made a token play of GZ, on top only, on some supers, and hit it. If I had made a full play I actually would have gotten out for the day.



TGJB